Hello, readers!
Welcome to this week’s installment of First Sentence and Free Book Friday.
The sentence from last week says a lot about my main character; Joetta McBride could not stomach conflict. It’s a very telling peek into her persona, and sets the stage for where trouble brews because we understand she’s living in a time when the country was literally coming apart. Opinions differed greatly, and oftentimes, within families. Research on the frequency of this happening was more than you would think. Fathers against sons, sons against fathers, brothers against brothers, etc., and the women dealing with the fallout either attempting to be the peacemakers, or perhaps even adding to fractures that divided families.
Here is a small bit from a book, THE DIVIDED FAMILY IN THE CIVIL WAR by Amy Murrell Taylor:
“The Civil War has long been described as a war pitting “brother against brother. The divided family is an enduring metaphor for the divided nation, but it also accurately reflects the reality of America’s bloodiest war. Connecting the metaphor to the real experiences of families whose households were split by conflicting opinions about the war, this book provides a social and cultural history of the divided family in Civil War America. In hundreds of border-state households, brothers—and sisters—really did fight one another, while fathers and sons argued over secession, and husbands and wives struggled with opposing national loyalties. Even enslaved men and women found themselves divided over how to respond to the war.”
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CHAPTER 2
What had flared in Henry’s eyes contradicted what Joetta and Ennis always believed, that through their hard work and example, their children would respect them and their chosen way of life.
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BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!
This week you have a chance to win a signed copy of THE FORGIVING KIND. I think I have two left, and here’s a chance to win one of them!
I was surprised to read in comments last week many of you haven’t read any Civil War books – except for non-fiction, in some cases. This week, I’m curious to know, do you have a favorite book no one else has heard of or read? One book in my personal library that gets a lot of “Oh, I haven’t heard of it,” is THE FALCONER by Dana Czapnik. This book is way outside of my usual reading genre. Actually, I ended up with it by mistake. It was sent to me by the author’s publicist with the standard letter inside reserved for “industry professionals,” like booksellers, librarians, etc. ????♀️ I emailed her back, saying I’d be happy to send it back as I realize copies are limited, and she said, “Oh, sorry, well, just keep it, I hope you enjoy it!” And, I really did! The story takes place in NYC in 1993 and is about a basketball loving young woman named Lucy who comes of age while navigating a sometimes painful, unrequited love of her best friend, and pickup teammate, Percy.
Tell me about your favorite book no one else has read!
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PRE-ORDERS
Pre-orders gauge the interest and signal to the publisher readers are eager for an author’s work! Please consider pre-ordering because it really does help! If you’re holding out because you might win an ARC or a finished copy, remember you can always give away the extra as a gift to one of your reader friends. ????
Pre-order links for your convenience:
Kensington Publishing Corporation
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Last, but not least, don’t forget to:
- Add WHEN THE JESSAMINE GROWS to your Goodreads “To Read” shelf
- Share this post with your reader friends
- Follow me on Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Bookbub, or my blog!
See you all next week!
Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird partially takes place during the Civil War.
Interesting – I think I remember seeing this one.
Breath, a biography of Martha Mason, from Lattimore, NC, lived in an iron lung for 61 of her 71 years of life. Her loving strength of determination and survival is an example of life, as it applies to us all.
Oh, wow. I’ve definitely not heard of this story.
I’m so glad your new book is about the Civil War and the way it affects families. I’m I’m mid-70s now from SC originally. Now in KY. It’s strange how different the opinions are from from these two areas. I’ve read a lot of nonfiction books about the war, but don’t have a list..I read everything on my Kindle. Good luck with this new novel.
Even in western NC – many in that area supported the Union while the rest of the state the Confederacy. Strange times.
Forgiveness Road, I loved this book. Thank you for the chance. Have a great weekend.
I happen to have heard of that one! ???? You have a nice weekend, too.
probably not
Giveaway…A favorite book no one seems to know about is “The Bell in the Lake” by Lars Mytting. It was translated to English from Norwegian. I loved this book! The novel was splendidly unique; learning a bit of history about stave churches to surprising superstitions and folklore of those times. Even some Swedish and German dialect gave the story some verity. A hauntingly beautiful story!
I love learning about new cultures, etc. It sounds really interesting!
Hi I am a new fan! My daughter (67) just finished “The Saints of Swallow Hill”and passed it on to me(87age) it is a good story,and hard to put down! you definity have two new followers! looking forward to new book!